Sechaba Holdings, the country’s leading brewer has appointed a Mexican, Renaud Beunchamp to the position of Country Managing Director, Botswana Guardian has been told. The new boss joined the company in January 2018. He is replacing Johan De Kok who left the struggling brewer at the end of last year. Until his appointment to the top post at the listed brewer, Beunchamp was Director of Sales: Modern Trade at Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev).

AB InBev is parent company to Sechaba, after buying SAB Miller in a marathon transaction more than a year ago. Beunchamp has a strong background in procurement and beer sales having been Global Procurement Manager and Director of Sales for the world’s largest brewery.

He is coming to Sechaba at a time when the group, which owns Kgalagadi Breweries Limited, has allegedly moved the bulk of its procurement process to Mauritius post a restructuring exercise.

Tough tasks await the McGill University graduate as he will be forced to turn the company to profitability amid tight regulations in the multi-million Pula sector. The group has been posting declining profits as a result of the Alcohol Levy which was introduced ten years ago and subsequently the traditional beer regulations which regulate sales of traditional brews.

Beunchamp will also be forced to settle down fast and convince investors that Sechaba is still intact despite market turbulence. This is so because one of the its biggest shareholders, Botswana Development Corporation (BDC) is selling down its shares at the brewer of St Louis and Black Label, as a result of poor financial performance by the company. Answering a question from this publication late last year, Chief Financial Officer of BDC, Dr Mbako Mbo said the process to divest from Sechaba will be done in three years. “So far we have sold 7, 2 million shares that we used to hold at the company (Sechaba),” he disclosed. According to BDC finance chief, the value of the above shares stands at around P120 million. According to Mbo, BDC plans to reduce its shareholding in the listed entity to ‘no more than 15 percent’. On another matter, Sechaba has notified shareholders that the 2017 final dividend will be declared in March 2018 and paid in April 2018. “This change in dates is meant to align the declaration of the final dividend with the announcement of the audited financial statements scheduled for March 2018,” said a statement from company secretary, Thobo Kerekang.

Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited’s asset and investment subsidiary -BIFM -is empowering its citizen employees big, after establishing a trust last month (December) which will enable employees to own part of the company under a share plan scheme.

An extraordinary meeting of shareholders will take place next month to approve and adopt the employee share plan scheme which falls under the trust. If the proposal gets the nod, Botswana Investment Fund Management (BIFM), which has billions of Pula under its care, will release a total of 21, 849, 246 shares to its employees.

This represents 25, 1 percent of BIFM’s issued share capital. BIFM is headed by Neo Bogatsu who has over 20 years of experience in the financial services sector. “The fair value of such shares has been determined by an independent external valuation exercise,” said a notice issued by BIHL Chief Executive Officer, Catherine Lesetedi-Letegele.

On inception, 15 percent of the ordinary issued shares of BIFM will be subscribed to by citizen employees to be held under a trust which is made up of Letegele, Andre Roux, Mahube Mpugwa, Kudakwashi Mukushi and Gerrit Lodewyk Van Heerde.

According to the notice, ‘In the event of these shares not being fully subscribed on the initial issuance of the scheme, the balance of the shares will be transferred to the trust for future allocation.’ The empowerment scheme is being established by the company as one way of retaining its employees, who in the end can successfully drive the company’s strategic plans.

“The company believes the implementation of the scheme will enable BIFM to structure a competitive remuneration package, which is designed as an additional incentive tool to reward and retain executives and quality employees,” said a notice. All citizen employees including executive directors are eligible to participate in the scheme.

BIFM offers investment services and products to retail and institutional investors. It also manages assets outside the country. Writing in the group annual report for 2016, Bogatsu stated: Despite the 2016 financial year being characterised by a lot of uncertainty in the global political landscape and economic landscape locally, the business remained resilient and as a consequence we saw the Assets under Management (AuM) increase by P5 billion to P25.9 billion as at 31 December 2016.

“For us 2016 was a year of building the strategic blocks and foundation for the business and ensuring that going forward the business remains sustainable and able to protect, diversify and grow the existing client base’

It remains to be seen how BIFM performed last year. BIHL will release its year end results, which include that of BIFM in two months’ time.

Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited’s asset and investment subsidiary -BIFM -is empowering its citizen employees big, after establishing a trust last month (December) which will enable employees to own part of the company under a share plan scheme.

An extraordinary meeting of shareholders will take place next month to approve and adopt the employee share plan scheme which falls under the trust. If the proposal gets the nod, Botswana Investment Fund Management (BIFM), which has billions of Pula under its care, will release a total of 21, 849, 246 shares to its employees.

This represents 25, 1 percent of BIFM’s issued share capital. BIFM is headed by Neo Bogatsu who has over 20 years of experience in the financial services sector. “The fair value of such shares has been determined by an independent external valuation exercise,” said a notice issued by BIHL Chief Executive Officer, Catherine Lesetedi-Letegele.

On inception, 15 percent of the ordinary issued shares of BIFM will be subscribed to by citizen employees to be held under a trust which is made up of Letegele, Andre Roux, Mahube Mpugwa, Kudakwashi Mukushi and Gerrit Lodewyk Van Heerde.

According to the notice, ‘In the event of these shares not being fully subscribed on the initial issuance of the scheme, the balance of the shares will be transferred to the trust for future allocation.’ The empowerment scheme is being established by the company as one way of retaining its employees, who in the end can successfully drive the company’s strategic plans.

“The company believes the implementation of the scheme will enable BIFM to structure a competitive remuneration package, which is designed as an additional incentive tool to reward and retain executives and quality employees,” said a notice. All citizen employees including executive directors are eligible to participate in the scheme.

BIFM offers investment services and products to retail and institutional investors. It also manages assets outside the country. Writing in the group annual report for 2016, Bogatsu stated: Despite the 2016 financial year being characterised by a lot of uncertainty in the global political landscape and economic landscape locally, the business remained resilient and as a consequence we saw the Assets under Management (AuM) increase by P5 billion to P25.9 billion as at 31 December 2016.

“For us 2016 was a year of building the strategic blocks and foundation for the business and ensuring that going forward the business remains sustainable and able to protect, diversify and grow the existing client base’

It remains to be seen how BIFM performed last year. BIHL will release its year end results, which include that of BIFM in two months’ time.

KFC Botswana’s acquring enterprise, Bradleymore’s will appear before the Competition Authority on Friday to defend their acquisition, which was first annouced last year.

In a statement the Competition Authority states that the hearing is intended to allow the parties to the transaction to make verbal representations to the Authority with respect to the transaction as well as allow their competitors and the general public to express views on the acquisition.

KFC Botswana portfolio, which consists of 12 restaurants, was placed under liquidation in June last year after the company failed to service its debts and creditors. In November of the same year, Bradlymore’s which a joint venture company between Vivo Energy is and Baobab Khulisani South Africa acquired KFC Botswana from the liquidator, Nigel Dixon-Warren. Vivo Energy through its network of Shell-branded retail service stations in Botswana is a marketer of various oil products including retail fuels, commercial fuels and lubricants. On the other hand, Baobab Khulisani, a South African KFC franchisee operates 11 stores in South Africa.

The anti-trust body also states that other interested parties not party to the proposed transaction will be afforded an opportunity to voluntarily submit to the Authority any document, affidavit, statement or other relevant information in respect of the proposed acquisition. “The hearing will be held with each of the parties to the transaction and other interested parties, pursuant to section 58(3)(a) of the Competition Act,” states the Authority.

Bradlymore’s is a limited liability company incorporated in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Botswana. It is a special purpose vehicle that was set up for purposes of the proposed transaction and, as such, is not involved in any form of activity.

KFC Botswana business is operated through three wholly owned subsidiaries of VPB Propco (Pty) Ltd which includes Greenax (Pty) Ltd (Greenax), QSR (Pty) Ltd (QSR) and Boitumelo Dijo (Pty) Ltd. The aforementioned subsidiaries operate 12 KFC franchises in Botswana situated in the following areas: six in South-East district; two in North-East district; and one in each of Southern (Kanye), Kweneng district (Molepolole), Ngamiland district (Maun), and Chobe district (Kasane).

In 2015 local poultry farmers raised concerns over KFC Botswana, pointing out that the company is not supporting local chicken farmers as it gets most of its products from South Africa. The chicken farmers appealed to the new owners to come with a policy that will at least help them to supply the fried chicken outlet with some of the stock. However, it was revealed that KFC’s requirements on slaughtering and handling of the chickens have to meet some of stringiest rules in place, including transportation from the abattoir to the restaurants.

The controversial alcohol ban during BTC Premiership games may be part of the reason why supporters prefer to watch games at home. The ban, which seems unique to the domestic league, has been in effect for a number of years. However, BPL clubs are currently hurting in the pocket due to declining revenue in gate takings only a handful of supporters bother to attend games. Despite strict laws prohibiting football supporters from consuming alcohol during BTC premiership league games, some supporters still manage to smuggle alcohol into the stadiums venues during weekly fixtures.

A case in point would be the BTC premiership fixture at the Molepolole Sports Complex this past weekend where Kgatleng sleeping giants Mochudi Centre Chiefs lost (1-0) to Orapa United. The game saw alcohol flowing and supporters drinking before the eyes of both security personnel and BPL official. Nevertheless, there are visible security measures at most BTC premiership venues and every vehicle that enters the venue is searched for illegal alcohol beverages. Majority of the supporters who spent that hard earned cash to attend the Saturday fixture game were clearly quenching their thirst as the game went on. This has in fact been happening for a while and now it begs the question on whether the Botswana Premier League (BPL) is enforcing strict measure

in their rather relaxed quest to ban alcohol at stadiums.

The sad reality for the BPL is that most local football seems to enjoy watching domestic league games in the comfort of their homes. Some prefer familiar company and rather enjoy football crowding in local bar where they can have access to alcohol. One would argue that it is time to reconsider revising the alcohol ban by all stakeholders involved. Not only would the relaxing the laws allow fans to relax and unwind with a couple of glasses but it might just help bring back supporters to the stadiums.

Nevertheless, the BPL decision’s to ban alcohol at the stadiums might have been justifiable long back given the unruly and occasional violent behaviour of some supporters that eventually caused the ban. The premier league is in desperate times with players and coaches’ unpaid salaries being at the top of the agenda. The BPL needs to start generating revenue. Moreover, the BPL’s P 50 000 grant handed to clubs has proven to be insufficient in running the teams. As local club wage bills continue to exceed their monthly income and other challenges like Club licensing crop up, there seems to be more trouble in the horizon for local teams.

The decision by government to discourage liquor companies from sponsoring sports activities has not helped in growth. The notorious Alcohol levy has also compounded this state of affairs. One could argue that alcohol continues to be a major boast to sport development especially football in countries such South Africa and Europe.

Meanwhile it has since emerged that the alcohol ban in stadiums does not sit well with some of the crowd pulling teams in Botswana. Even traditional top clubs in Botswana has started feeling the pinch as revenue declines at the gate and supporters chose to stay home with their money.

In an interview this week, Extension Gunners Club Administration Officer Kefilwe Balaodi had no qualm alcohol at stadiums affects attendance greatly.“Before people can come to the games, they are somewhere drinking with their friends and then they are told to stop drinking just because they want to watch a game,” Balaodi said.

Balaodi argued that he has on several occasions seen supporters abandon buying tickets simply because they were told that they should not drink their alcohol, which was a sad and profound sight for him. Nevertheless the Gunners official said they are already working on a proposal to be handed over to BPL and Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) regarding the matter.

“We will be approaching them soon, the gate taking revenue is heavily affected, and football is entertainment mostly for male folk. It gets boring for them if part of their entertainment is restricted to only soft drinks and water,” argued Balaodi.

For his part Mochudi Centre Chiefs spokesperson Clifford Mogomotsi said the alcohol issue has a historical background in that people were once allowed to drink but decided to be violent hence the current law.

“A great number of people stopped coming to the stadium since then and honestly, we are the ones suffering most,” he said.

Mogomotsi advised that BPL should think of ways to allow people to drink but at the same time be cautions that there is no harm done. He said FIFA has not banned

The Botswana national women’s softball team recently qualified for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) senior women’s championships scheduled for Chiba, Japan in August. Botswana qualified during the WBSC Africa qualifiers recently held in South Africa. The senior national women’s team are not the only ones who have made the country proud as the senior men’s team were recently ranked 12th in the world following the WBSC world championships held in Canada last year.

In an interview this week, Botswana Softball Association (BSA) Vice President BSA Katlholo Mosimanegape said the senior ladies team success was realized because of the BSA’s early development programs. Mosimanegape added that such programs were achieved in collaboration with the Botswana Integrated Sports Association (BISA). “Through BISA we capture well performing junior athletes and help them get a place at our softball schools of excellence located in Masunga and Goodhope. In these centres we have trained grassroots coaches who work with them every now and then,” Mosimanegape said.

In addition, the BSA VP SAID the Debswana sponsored “Re ba bona Ha” program has also played part in helping develop the sport. Through the program Mosimanegape said they have been focusing bringing more girls into playing and once they are in the systems the BSA is able to maintain them. “We arrange camps every now and then for our players, we do not wait for a big event to take place before we start putting in the work,” he said.

For her part, the BSA Public Relations officer Kelebogile Seitei pointed out that the ladies team is stronger than ever because the association has been working tirelessly in ensuring that athletes at clubs level get the necessary exposure through the league as well the morale support needed to produce results.

Moreover, the elated BSA mouthpiece said that the association success is driven by cooperation between players, administrators and the technical teams. “We work closely with one another because we have a similar interest and that is to grow softball in the country,” she said.

Seitei further explained that BOFINET BSA league is another contributing factor to success in both the men and women side at international stages. “Through their clubs our athletes cgain so much experience because the league is as competitive as international tournaments because every team wants to win the P100 000 cash prize money hence high level matches.”

Speaking on the senior men team’s impressive rise in the world rankings, Seitei said that the ranking is the highest finish the country has ever recorded. She added that the ranking shows that the association is in the right track in fulfilling its mandate of being Africa’s best.

“The rankings track a country’s entire national team performance in all WBSC-sanctioned international competitions over a period of four years including the under 19, this shows we are building not only the seniors but upcoming teams too,” she explained. Seitei added that going forward the local league should be more interesting since the outside world will be watching too because of their double success.

“Chances of underperforming are very minimal in the future since teams will be engaged throughout because our teams will be more engaged and with that we anticipate a much higher ranking,” Seitei said.

Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) is dominating the Olympic solidarity Scholarships for elite athletes. The scholarships announced by the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) are meant to assist and prepare athletes towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

As the best performing sport code locally, Serufho said they are confident that through the scholarship, the Botswana Athletics Association athletes will be able to get world standard training, which will come in handy during the next Olympic games. Botswana has set herself a target of four medals at the 2020 Olympics.

The scholarship, he said includes coaching fees, stipend and accommodation. They will also be covering athletes travel expenses. Other beneficiaries include Naomi Ruele of swimming and Matshidiso Ebudile of cycling.

In an interview earlier this week, Botswana Athletics Assocaition president Thari Mooketsi said he is pleased that his athletes will have a stable training program ahead of Tokyo 2020. He explained that Makwala and Amos’s splendid performance last year was because of the same scholarship.

“It was unfortunate that the two athletes could not win medals at the World Championships staged in London however they are amongst the few who did well in the IAAF Diamond league,” Thari said.

The BAA is confident that with the right training program and coaching, the seven athletes will perform to expectations. Thari revealed that he is also a happy man in that 400m runner Leaname Maotoanong and the women’s 4x400 relay team sprinter Galefele Moroko are being financial assisted by the BNOC to train.

Moreover, Thari is convinced that BAA will be unleashing future athletes who are currently drawing inspiration from the likes of Thebe and Makwala. The BAA president said they are considering the introduction of an out of school camp where they will be focusing children who are not in school.

Meanwhile, ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth games scheduled for Gold Coast, Australia in April, the team is reported to be in camp. Botswana will be sending 27 athletes and 24 officials to Australia where they are hoping to bring back at least 7 medals.

Botswana has a set target of eight medals. So far the country managed to secure only one bronze medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games held in Bahamas last year through James Freeman in the men’s 1500m freestyle.

The former Botswana Motorsport (BMS) president Simon Modisaemang was recently appointed to a new position at the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).

Modisaemang who is the Managing Director of Emergency Assist and Emergency Assist motorsport will be holding the position of Vice President (Africa) Automobile, Mobility and Tourism.

In an interview this week, Modisaemang said Botswana stands to benefit from both mobility and motorsports through grants that are available at the FIA. The FIA is an international governing body for international motorsport events including Formula One and the World Rally Championship. Moreover, Modisaemang said his appointment would provide access to FIA grants that can be used to improve grassroots motorsport activities such as go Karting and road rally.

We can part with government ministries and the private sector to organise go-kart activities at primary school. These activities can be organised country wide with the help of the FIA. We can then hold national championships where different regions will come and compete. In addition, the former BMS president said Botswana could also benefit in terms of sports medicine adding that, one of his employees at Emergency Assist benefitted from sports medicine course recently organised by the FIA in the United Arab Emirates.

Motorsport and mobility go hand in hand and the two are interrelated. “When people travel from South Africa to attend the 1000 km Toyota Desert Race that is mobility. We need to educate people so that they do not emulate what they see on motorsport events when driving on public roads.”

In other matters Modisaeman said his club Emergency Assist motorsport continues to focus on four wheeler motorsport activities. “We had plans organise a rally event last year but this did not materialise as we could not recognise proper routes for the event.” However, we plan to organise two or more rally events this year.

The beginning of the each year marks different resolutions for different aspects of life, and Fitness Bootcamp Botswana (FBB) has taken it upon itself to guide the 2018’s fitness resolution.

FBB Instructor, James Tamora warns that people gain more weight during festive season and later on hit gyms during the beginning of the year. Very often almost everyone has fitness in their list of New Year’s resolutions, although some end up giving up.

FBB has come up with different programmes to help turn this resolution into reality for interested clients. The boot camps are the certain bet for losing weight. Tamora says their boot camps are responsible for team building, which include; physical training and motivational talks on a one-on-one basis.

But first things first before enlisting in any fitness programme! “Consult with a medical practitioner for body assessments and find out if you do not have any lifestyle diseases,” he advises, saying this will allow the instructor to assign a suitable programme for you.

Also, check with a qualified fitness trainer at the gym if you have any lifestyle disease that you may not be aware of. “At FBB, we also check people to guide them on where to start with their training. We do body assessments and also offer a physical proficiency test which monitors the progress of our clients all the time,” says Tamora.

Diet can also be used to guide one to achieve one’s fitness objectives. It is particularly essential for beginners in a training programme. “One can never go wrong with reaching one’s fitness resolution if one observes the right food,” he explains.

Training measures at the boot camp include pool workouts, aqua aerobics, swimming, aerobics, hill climbing and trainings. Boot camps are however the main emphasis because they instil team building. The bush presents the best place for concentration while training, since it is devoid of any distractions.

Tamora advises that drinking a lot of water while training is helpful. “One has to drink water before and after training. A lot of water should specifically be drunk after training,” he says.

Their training areas include National Stadium and Superfit gym where Tamora works with another trained instructor; Bob Dintwe. FBB also has special outreach projects for the disabled with different organisations across the country.

The elderly are also encouraged to take part in exercising activity. “Very often the elderly perceive that exercising is only meant for the young people but they should also exercise to keep fit’.

Like every other year, losing a few kilos or getting back to ‘hot bodies’ is top of the list for most resolution makers.

However, not many follow through due to lack of consistency. Some relapse within a short period of time back to their old ways. The newly-discovered phenomenon of ‘banting’ is the next best resolution as it does not only offer incredible weight loss but a complete lifestyle change.

Banting or the banting diet, is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) diet, named after William Banting in the early 1800s, the first known person to adopt this style of eating. William was an undertaker and the story goes that he was absolutely massive. His doctor, William Harvey, proposed this radical way of eating and so, banting was born.

South African Professor and Scientist Tim Noakes who has participated in over 70 marathons and ultra-marathons, and has published over 750 scientific writings is a banter. He has been cited in over 16,000 times by his colleagues, and he has revolutionised the nutrition world in terms of how people perceive fat. Noakes was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes after living a very active life and eating what he thought was a healthy diet.

“After diligent research, I found that my high carb, low fat (HCLF) meal plan was the root of his consistent prognosis. He began to bant, and soon after, Noakes regulated his blood sugar levels, improved his insulin resistance, and regained his strength and energy,” he wrote in one of his books.

He also shares that a diet high in refined carbs, sugars, highly processed foods and vegetable oils causes high blood sugar, high insulin levels, hormone disruption and general metabolic disorder.

“The main focus of Banting is to eliminate food that contributes to lifestyle disease, including refined carbohydrates, processed foods, grains, harmful additives and sugar.

Here in Botswana, the Banting lifestyle has been popularised by those who have tried it out, with multiple groups on Facebook created to assist banters. These days, almost all major supermarkets will stock some sort of “low carb” version of people’s favourite treats.

Minkie Sabone caught up quickly with the hype and opened Chronicles of Health Shop in Rail Park, that specialises in banting products and foodstuffs, specifically made for banting, and locals have received it with open hands.

Choosing to live a healthier lifestyle through banting - a hugely popular eating trend - 32-year-old Poppy Letsha* has lost a whopping 27kg in 17 months. Letsha was once unable to walk down a flight of stairs and suffered from several chronic conditions.

“I suffered from everything you can imagine. I had asthma, high blood pressure, stomach ulcers and osteoarthritis in the knees. I couldn’t stand for long periods of time, was in constant pain and taking six lots of medication.”

She became frustrated with herself, and when doctors told her she would need to undergo an operation for her knees, she knew something needed to change. She was then introduced to Banting, which changed her life.

“Banting is basically a low-carb, high (healthy) fat lifestyle, not a diet but a lifestyle change. In order to successfully embrace this lifestyle, I had to have a positive mindset - attitude and commitment is required,” she says.

She said her husband was also a chronic diabetic and she told him if she was going to change the way she ate, he would have to do so as well. “I sat down with the ‘green’ list and wrote down everything I needed to get. I eliminated all carbs from our diet.

“At first it was a bit tough because we were so used to cooking pap, rice and the usual starch, but three and a half weeks in, it was like putting a hot knife through butter. It was effortless.”

Letsha said that by day 10 she noticed the difference. “I couldn’t believe what was happening to me. Oh my God, I could avoid the lift, and use the stairs to work,” she laughed, pleased with herself.

“I was saving almost P1000 a month. I was over the moon.”

She said her husband no longer had a problem with his sugar levels and was more active.

Her advice to beginners

“We have to be disgusted with our ill health. We must be shocked at the health risks we will face if we don’t change our lifestyle”.

She recommends seeing a nutritionist to give advice about the best eating lifestyle and what our bodies can and cannot take. “Good eating habits are far better than diets,” she adds. “Start with small changes; Change your sunflower oil to coconut oil, change from margarine to butter. It is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change. “When shopping, prioritise your dairy, meat and vegetable aisle first. When dining out, ask for flavoured water instead of cool drink. Have fish grilled in butter and cut out all the carbs.”

She said that when people are thinking of changing to a healthier lifestyle, mindset and attitude are important. “We need to eat more healthily. Exercise is very important. Simply walking 30 minutes every day has many health benefits.”

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